French window or sliding patio door kitchen dilemma?

8 years ago

We're having a kitchen extension. The existing external wall has a window that is about 6 foot wide and 4 foot deep. The new external wall (which will be about 9 feet further out) will provide the new rear exit and access to the garden and we would like a large window to open the kitchen up to the garden. The new window/door will be 8 foot wide. Our dilemma is whether to go for:

1) a three panel French type window with the central panel being the external door. The door will preferably open outwards to allow extra space in the kitchen. I'm thinking plain glass here not the small panels traditionally used in French doors. I've searched online but can't find any examples of this type of three panel window with the door in the centre.

2) a sliding patio door.

Unfortunately bifold doors would exhaust our budget.

My concern about option 1 is that the three panel frame with central door may look cluttered and the proforma may interrupt the view. My main concern about option 2 is security as the rear garden is fairly secluded. Also wondering whether sliding patio doors are now somewhat dated???

The door will be used frequently to access the rear garden and unfortunately the four large, but necessary, bins that our local council have provided.

Any comments regarding the merits or pitfalls of either option, or alternative suggestions, would be gratefully received. We have to decide quickly as the builder has already started and is pressing us for a decision.

Featured Answer

Jenny Boyd

8 years ago

I think they will look lovely. We had sliders as bifolds would have obstructed the view too much - also we were quoted £18000!!! The two central panels slide open to the left and right to create a 3m wide opening. Ignore the mess it's not finished yet!

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Comments (12)

PRO
Lampert Dias Architects, Inc.
8 years ago
I have two suggestions.

1. Do a pair of french doors with a tall casement window adjacent. Each french door would be approx. 2'-8" wide with the casement being equal. You would have three equal panels but the doors would create an opening over 5' wide when they are both open. This is good for easy flow in and out when you have a BBQ. You can swing them out as you suggested.

2. Do a 3 panel slider instead of a two panel slider. This way you can have a wider opening when the two panels are open.

Either of these will give you a nice look with the dimensions. Also you will have a nice wide opening to walk through when you are entertaining.
mistylydia thanked Lampert Dias Architects, Inc.
mistylydia
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi, thank you so much for your response, it's given us something different to think about.
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jkhmcd
8 years ago
Hi ,

We are 3rd week into our build and had similar dilemma .
We have decided on a 4 panel sliding doors so the 2 central ones will slide open. On speaking to a few people the sliding doors seem to be back in but I know not to everyone's taste .
We had french doors previous.
Bi fold was out of our budget too.

They are due to be fitted Monday week so I will post a picture up then if you like .
mistylydia thanked jkhmcd
mistylydia
Original Author
8 years ago
Oh a picture would be great, thank you. The builder has put in the footings and is returning on Monday to start the brick work (fingers crossed that the bricks are delivered then too!) so I reckon he'll want a decision soon. Good luck with your build. Look forward to seeing a picture.
PRO
David Chatfield Architectural/Int Photographer
8 years ago
I would go for two opener french doors we have them in our house and just put them in our summer house. It feels much more spacious and brighter.
mistylydia thanked David Chatfield Architectural/Int Photographer
mistylydia
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you for taking the time to respond and load a photo David. This afternoon we have been looking again and have seen some sliding doors that also looked very nice because there is minimum profile to obstruct the view. So I'm now having second thoughts about these, despite my comment that I thought they looked dated. We need to make our minds up soon as the build is underway. I like your French doors. Thank you again.
M J
8 years ago
Hi. We had patio doors put in some years ago and have never regretted it. Bi-fold we could have afforded but the panels block the view, same with French doors. The patio doors are much wider so the view is unblocked. Every single day I sit for breakfast looking out the doors to the garden; when I watch TV the sofa faces sideways on so I switch between TV and garden view. I love it. The absolute best thing we ever did.
mistylydia thanked M J
M J
8 years ago

This is the back view of our house with the two patio doors. Whilst they don't look huge, there is only one panel down the middle to impede the view. This was taken years ago and the garden now has matured and is much taller so the view is lovely, in my personal opinion. As I said in my previous post, I would go for patio doors again if I had the same space. Good luck!
M J
8 years ago
p.s. the doors slide across, they don't open in or out.
mistylydia
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi Mandy, thanks for taking the trouble to respond and for the photo. Love your garden, great that you can enjoy it so much. I think we're now fairly set on going for a sliding patio door, for the very reasons that you mention, that is the uninterrupted view without too many profiles in the way. We've been looking again today and saw a lovely one. We had a patio door in our previous property over twenty years ago but from what I saw today they're much nicer now. We already have a couple of French windows in other rooms but want the new kitchen to be more contemporary. The one we saw this afternoon was at a company called Clearview. The salesman assured us that their doors are the most secure (not sure if this is just a sales ploy or not). Either way I quite like the clear look of the sliding patio door so will have a good look around at other companies before we finally decide where to buy. Such a relief that one more decision has been made. Last week's trauma was finding a good brick match for the extension. Thanks again. So grateful for everyone's input here on Houzz.
PRO
One Sterling Carpentry & Building Services
8 years ago

In terms of view we tend to install a lot of sliding doors, this is a job we have just finished, the customer had the same dilemma, however for this particular project we advised on sliders as apposed to bifold doors, as you can see the right choice was made. Sliding doors are very much in at the moment and look amazing.

French window or sliding patio door kitchen dilemma?

Jenny Boyd

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